Prosecco is not Franciacorta. Who does not like a glass of Prosecco or Champagne or Franciacorta. I decided to write this article with a personal experience in mind.

Malpensa Airport, location of a well-known Trento Classic Method producer. A couple of guys sit next to me and ask for a Prosecco. The girl at the counter tries to explain that they only have the Classic Method. The couple, without understanding the answer, makes a nice request: “if it’s a sparkling wine it’s okay, as long as it has bubbles”.

Do you also think they are the same since they both have bubbles?

Sorry to disappoint you, but they are different products.

Apart from the grapes, the different production areas, such as Valdobbiadene for Prosecco, Champagne and Franciacorta speak for themselves, it is the method of obtaining the froth, from which sparkling wine, that makes the big difference.

The Charmat / Martinotti method allows to obtain the foam with the second fermentation of the base wine with the addition of yeasts in an autoclave for 3 or 6 or 9 months to have more drinkable, easy, floral and fruity sparkling wines. They are excellent with aperitifs. From the autoclave, through an isobaric process, the sparkling wine is bottled. So the bottle you have on the table is not the same one where the wine has foamed.

Here, Prosecco is obtained like this.

The Classic Method allows to obtain the foam with the second fermentation of the base wine with the addition of yeasts in the bottle for 15 or 18 months or for years to have complex sparkling wines with hints of bread crust, pastry, honey, dehydrated fruit and dried fruit. They are excellent companions to savor an entire meal and with more complex dishes. The bottle you have on the table is the same from the second fermentation, so it is the same container from the second fermentation until consumption.

Here, Champagne and Franciacorta are obtained this way.

Obviously it’s not all about sparkling wines. There are other methods and other procedures that make the argument about sparkling wines more articulated and complex.

Speaker and Sommelier Fisar Milano Duomo

Devid Ghisellini